Anthony Edward Tudor Browne[1] (born 11 September 1946, in Sheffield) [2] is a British writer and illustrator of children's books, primarily picture books, with nearly forty titles to his name.[3] For his lasting contribution as a children's illustrator he won the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2000, the highest recognition available to creators of children's books.[4][5] From 2009 to 2011 he was Children's Laureate.[6][7]

Browne won two Kate Greenaway Medals from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book illustration. For the 50th anniversary of the Medal (1955–2005), a panel named his 1983 medalist Gorilla one of the top ten winning works, which composed the ballot for a public election of the nation's favourite.[8]

When he finished school Browne intended to become a painter, but being short of money he took a job as a medical illustrator, drawing the insides of bodies for Manchester Royal Infirmary. After three years he grew tired of the job's repetitiveness and moved on to design greeting cards for Gordon Fraser. He designed cards for fifteen years before he started writing and illustrating his own books.

Browne's debut book both as writer and as illustrator was Through the Magic Mirror, published by Hamish Hamilton in 1976. A Walk in the Park followed next year and gained a cult following[citation needed] and Bear Hunt (1979) was more successful commercially.[10] His breakthrough came with Gorilla, published by Julia MacRae in 1983, based on one of his greeting cards. For it he won the Kate Greenaway Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book illustration by a British subject.[11] He was a highly commended runner-up[a] for an edition of Alice in Wonder (1988),[12] he won the 1992 Medal for Zoo<re

In 2000 Browne was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal, an international award given to an illustrator for their body of work. This prize is the highest honour a children’s writer or illustrator can win and Browne was the first British illustrator to receive the award.

In 2001–2002 Browne took a job as writer and illustrator at Tate Britain, working with children using art as a stimulus to inspire visual literacy and creative writing activities. It was during this time that Browne conceived and produced The Shape Game (Doubleday, 2003).

Browne's books are translated into 26 languages and his illustrations have been exhibited in many countries including; The United States of America, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, France, Korea, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, and Taiwan. He currently lives in Canterbury, England.

The Visitors Who Came to Stay by Annalena McAfee (Hamilton, 1984) – winner of the 1985 German youth literature prize for picture books in its German-language translation retaining Browne's illustrations

^ abcToday there are usually eight books on the Greenaway Medal shortlist. According to CCSU, some runners-up through 2002 up were Commended (from 1959) or Highly Commended (from 1974). There were 99 commendations of both kinds in 44 years; 31 high commendations in 29 years, including Browne and two others for 1988, Browne alone for 2000.
• No one has won three Greenaways. Among the fourteen illustrators with two Medals, Browne is one of seven with one book named to the top ten (1955–2005) and one of seven with at least one Highly Commended runner-up (1974–2002), led by Helen Oxenbury with four and Browne with two.